Women in the Buddhist Period

Women in the Buddhist Period

Relevance: Prelims/Mains: G.S paper I: Indian Society & Medieval History

The  status  of women  improved  a  little during  the  Buddhist  period  though  there  was no tremendous change. Some of the rigidities and restrictions imposed by the caste system were relaxed.  Buddha  preached equality  and  he  tried to  improve the  cultural,  educational  and religious statuses of women. During the benevolent rule of the famous Buddhist kings such as

Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Sri Harsha and others, women regained a part of their lost freedom and status due to the relatively broadminded Buddhist philosophy.

Women were not only confined to domestic work but also they could resort to an educational career if they so desired. In the religious field women came to occupy a distinctly superior place. Women  were permitted  to become “Sanyasis”. Many  women took a leading  role in Buddhist  monastic-life,  women had  their  sangha called  the Bhikshuni Sangha,  which  was guided by the same rules and regulations as these of the monks. The sangha opened to them avenues of cultural activities and social service and ample opportunities for public life. Their political and economic status however remained unchanged.

Ancient Women and Education:

There are some bright exceptions in this dismal picture. The role of women in Ancient Indian Literature  is  immense.  Ancient  India had  many  learned  ladies. There were two  types  of scholarly women   the Brahmavadinis, or  the women  who never  married and  cultured the Vedas throughout their lives; and the Sadyodvahas who studied the Vedas till they married.

Panini  mentioned  of  female  students’  studying  Vedas.  Katyana  called  female  teachers Upadhyaya  or Upadhyayi. Ashoka got  his daughter,  Sanghamitra, inducted  into  preaching Buddhism. From the Jain texts, we learn about the Kousambi princess, Jayanti, who remained a spinster to study religion and philosophy. Often, Buddhist nuns composed hymns. Women did write Sanskrit plays and verses, excelled in music, painting and other fine arts.

Ancient Women in Politics:

Women  often  enjoyed  prominent  roles  in  politics.  Megasthenes  mentioned  the  Pandya women running the administration. The Satavahana queen, “Nayanika ruled the kingdom on behalf of her minor  son. So  did Pravabati,  daughter of Chandragupta II, on behalf of  the minor Vakataka prince. A little after the Gupta period, queens used to rule in Kashmir, Orissa

and Andhra. Princess Vijaybhattarika acted as the provincial ruler under the Chalukya King; Vikramaditya I. Women were provincial and village administrators in the Kannada region.

 

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One comment

  1. Indian History is a vague and massive subject and IAS aspiring students find it difficult to cover the entire subject. The above post gives a clear picture of ancient women during the Buddhist period. I understood the education, lifestyle and political participation of ancient Indian woman. Thanks for the above informative post.

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